The Tale of the Fairy
by Shifteraei
Summary: Natsu and Gray take a mission to defeat a monster with an obsession with long hair and find more than they bargained for. What is going on and who is behind it? Major props to SecretDime who was the inspiration and thought of the title.
1. Rapunzel

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, in any way, shape or form. That's all.**

**Author's Note: This story came about because OracionMist suggested I write a story in which the cast of Fairy Tail acted out Rapunzel, and SecretDime demanded a sequel to that story, giving me an idea for a whole different series. I needed to re-write it before I could really begin on Chapter 2**

Tale of the Fairy

_**Rapunzel**_

* * *

><p>"Please, someone help. A monster has been attacking our village <em>and<em> everyone with long hair that passes through. Something has to be done before it destroys the entire town.

PS. The monster seems to have an obsession with the colour pink."

Gray looked at the job request, and then over at Natsu, with his new hair that any girl would be proud of. It was perhaps the most amusing thing that Gray had ever seen, Natsu with this spiky pink braid all the way down to his waist, and boy, was the dragon slayer not happy about it. Of course, these things would happen if Natsu was stupid enough to bet against Gray. You'd have thought he had worked it out by now. Gray simply did not lose, and certainly not when it came to things like that. And now, here was the perfect job to rub it in just a little more. "Hey, Na-tsu," he yelled, drawing out his name. "Interested in doing a job? You'll get to beat up a monster."

Natsu's eyes lit up with devilish glee, delighted at the prospect of having something he was allowed to take his anger out on and Gray knew he had him.

* * *

><p>"Oh, thank you so much!" The jovial man gushed, shaking Gray's hand enthusiastically. "We were at our wits end. I didn't know what we were going to do. All our attempts to trap the Creature have failed. Your colleague there will be the perfect bait for the Creature."<p>

Natsu, who had been observing the comings and goings of the village around them, turned to face Gray, his braid whirling out with the movement, hitting an unfortunate villager in the face. "What did he say? Bait?"

Village leader Magn, the one who had posted the job request, smiled apologetically at Natsu. "I'm sorry…I just assumed, what with your hair…"

"What about it?" Natsu snarled, wisps of smoke trailing from his mouth. His hair was a touchy subject at the moment, as in, it was a subject that no one touched unless they wanted to be fried to a crisp.

"N…n…not…nothing," the older man stuttered, retreating from the angry fire mage. "I'll just…show you to the spot then, shall I?" He asked, turning to face the infinitely less terrifying ice mage. "Umm…The Creature seems to have made its home in the forest. No one dares go in there anymore, but there's an old house just by the edge of the forest that you can stay in, while you're here. If that's okay with you?" He added, tossing a look back at the still fuming Natsu.

"That's fine," Gray said. "Lead the way." He took hold of Natsu's arm, ignoring the furious look he gave him and dragged him alongside, as he followed Magn along an old, faded track, leading to an equally old building.

Natsu stopped struggling and came to stand beside Gray, staring up and up and up and up. "In what universe is that a house?" He muttered incredulously.

Gray just nodded, speechless. He stared up at the old tower that appeared to have originally been part of a large structure. Obviously the rest of it had either fallen down or been removed, leaving the tower to loom over the path to the village. Magn stood in front of a large wooden door, and grinned apprehensively, his previous jovialness completely gone. "I'll leave you to it then," he said hurriedly. "If you need anything, or have any questions, just contact me." He shoved an old key into Gray's hand and raced back down the path at an amazing speed, back to the village. Gray and Natsu stared after him, then turned as one to face the tower.

"Weirdo," Natsu muttered.

Gray sighed and walked forward. "Doesn't make any difference to us. Let's just get of this monster and get the hell out of here."

Natsu reached out and grabbed hold of Gray's shoulder, turning him roughly to face him. "Don't think I've forgotten the whole bait thing. You will pay for that."

Gray smirked, and pushed him off, unlocking the rusty lock easily. Natsu's threat didn't bother him in the least. With a gently shove, the door swung slowly open, creaking eerily. The room was dark and almost completely empty, just a table, two chairs and a fireplace in the echoing space. The most imposing thing in the room was a large spiral staircase, in the far corner of the room, slowly winding its way upwards.

"Why am I bait?" Natsu snarled, grabbing hold of Gray again.

With one strong shove, Gray pushed Natsu off of him, into once of the walls. "The poster said that the monster was attracted to long hair and the colour pink. Of course I thought of you. You'd be its perfect prey."

Baring his teeth, Natsu leapt towards Gray, ready to beat the hell out of him, but froze almost mid-air when Gray completely ignored his attack, instead focusing on the staircase. Natsu couldn't see what was so fascinating about a staircase. Nevertheless, he followed Gray as he climbed the stairs, the oppressive silence broken only by the sound of their breathing as they neared the top.

They reached the landing, and it seemed that the only purpose of the stairs was to lead to this one room behind a closed door. With one hand, Gray pushed the door open, and it sung inward to reveal a perfectly preserved bedroom.

"It looks like everything has just been cleaned," Natsu whispered. "This place is about to collapse but this room looks like an army of maids have just been here. Or Virgo." He shuddered slightly, remembering the one time he had seen the celestial spirit go on a cleaning rampage. The images still haunted him in his nightmares.

"That explains why Magn was in such a hurry to get out of here. The locals probably think this place is cursed." Gray shrugged. He and Natsu had dealt with curses a lot worse than one keeping a room clean. "We need more light," he muttered, looking straight at Natsu.

The pink haired dragon slayer looked around the room, and spat a burst of flame at the wall, the fire catching hold of the boards covering the window and incinerating it. A flood of yellow sunlight streamed through the suddenly bare window, allowing them to see the details of the room.

What was in the room was unremarkable, just a bed with pink hangings, a shot chair and a rug in front of an old fashioned fireplace, it was what was on the walls that was stunning. Every inch of the walls had been painted with different scenes, some forests and waterfalls, some birds, some of animals they didn't recognise, some of the night sky, but every sing one was beautifully detailed and looked as if they had been painted just last week.

"What's going on with this place?" Natsu asked, looking out the window across the forest, to where he could just see the rooftops of the taller houses in the village.

Gray looked around the room, searching for something that might explain what was with this place. At the foot of the bed was a large wooden chest with a hard and elaborate looking lock. Kneeling beside the chest, he placed a hand on the lock, ice creeping up from where he touched it. He pulled back when the ice had completely encased the lock, and smashed hard into the lock, the frozen metal shattering. Inside were blankets, a hair brush and a box of paints, but beneath all that was a bundle of letters tied together with a pink ribbon. He carefully lifted the letters out, the old paper crackling in his grip. Why had they not been as perfectly preserved as the rest of the room?

"What are those?" Natsu asked, flopping down next to Gray.

"Letters, dumbass." The ice mage ignored Natsu's cry of rage, and slid the ribbon off, unfolding the first letter carefully.

_Rapunzel, it has only be a week since last we met, but it has felt like years to my heart. I did not realise that what is seemingly a minor separation would fell like such a cavernous loss to my soul. I beg of you, put me out of my misery and tell me when next we can meet. If you do not I fear I shall surely perish from the lack. _

"What kinda crap do you call _that_?" Natsu grimaced, his distaste curling his mouth.

"I think it's generally referred to as _romantic_," Gray drawled. He frowned, "does the name Rapunzel sound familiar to you?"

"Ummm," Natsu thought for a moment. "I think I heard a story about someone called Rapunzel, ages ago, when I was really little. Maybe Igneel told it to me. There was a princess called Rapunzel, with really long hair, who was kept in a tower by a witch and she was in love with a prince, and then they both vanished."

"Weird. Rapunzel had long hair, and seemed to like pink. The monster is obsessed with long hair and pink. It's all a little too much of a coincidence for my liking." Gray looked around the perfectly placed room, placing the letters back in the chest. "I think I want to go and talk to Magn about all this. Something isn't right. You have a look around here; see if you can find anything that might explain what's going on."

"Hey! Why do you get to go?" Natsu yelled, leaping to his feet.

"Because, dumbass," he said, yanking on the dragon slayer's pink braid, "the last thing any of us needs, is for the monster to eat you as you go to ask what's going on."

"No monster could beat me!"

Gray sighed. "Your freakish sense of smell will come in handy here. You'll be more likely to find anything than I would."

"Fine," Natsu nodded, pacified. Well, as pacified as Natsu could ever be. He sat back on the floor, sniffing at each of the contents of the chest, pink hair spilling around him in a brightly coloured puddle.

* * *

><p>Gray ran a hand through his short, dark hair in frustration. The village leader had not been helpful at all, denying any possibility that someone had lived in the tower ever. He said that it had been empty for longer than anyone could remember and since no one owned it, they had just let it fall into disrepair. You didn't have to be the flame haired idiot to smell a rat. The problem was that he had no idea what the rat was. Hopefully Natsu had found something in the two hours Gray had been gone.<p>

He reached the tower, and stared up at it, searching for any outward sign that there was something different about it. A flash of pink went showed in the window and he grinned, another way to torment Natsu about his hair presenting itself. "Oi, flame-head!" He yelled loudly.

"What?" Natsu snarled, sticking his head out the window. He was bored, dusty and hungry. And he hadn't found anything interesting at all.

"I need to get up there. Let me climb up your hair." Gray grinned evilly, anticipating the explosion.

He wasn't disappointed. "Arsehole! It's all your fault that my hair is this long! I'm going to cut it off and strangle you with it!"

"Then you forfeit!" Gray yelled back. "You know what happens if you forfeit!"

"You can't make me do anything if you're dead!" Natsu continued to rant, and Gray tuned him out. Unless he started shooting flames, it wasn't like he could do too much damage. He didn't notice when Natsu stopped ranting, didn't hear the warning he yelled as a large creature, surprisingly silent for its size slunk towards him, one giant, clawed hand raised.

It struck out at Gray, connecting with his shoulder, sending him flying into the wall of the tower. His head hit the wall hard, a loud _thwack_ ringing through the air, and blood beginning to gush out of the tears in his shoulder. He groaned and looked blearily up at the creature standing over him, its raggedy off-white fur standing on end, red eyes burning, huge curved claws dripping with his blood. Growling menacingly, it reared up, preparing to strike again. He caught a glimpse of pink, and thought for a second that Natsu had come down for the tower, but it seemed to be a ribbon tied to the creature's tail. The ice mage tried to roll out of the way of the descending claws, but pain flared through his head, and he couldn't move fast enough.

Natsu raced down the stair, leaping down flights at a time. If the window had been big enough, he would have jumped out of it, but try as he might he couldn't fit. The image of Gray being batted around by those huge claws like a child's toy filled his vision, and the noise his head had made when it hit the hard stone of the tower was all he could hear.

He got into the clearing, and saw the creature pull back to strike at Gray again, who lay motionless on the ground, bright red the only colour he could see. With a great shout, Natsu drove the creature backwards, flames coating his body, away from Gray's prone body. The creature's matted coat caught alight, and it panicked, slamming its body into Natsu. A clawed hand slashed out, but he moved fast, and the momentum of its swing carried it forward, burying claws into its own stomach.

With a great snarl of rage, it pulled its claws free, swinging at Natsu again, pinkish blood dripping down, mixing with the bright red of Gray's blood. Natsu growled back, unleashing a huge burst of flames, turning the creature into a living torch. It stumbled backwards, trying to batt out the flames, spreading them over the rest of its body. It fell to its knees, crying out in pain as the flames ate at it.

Natsu ignored the creature now that it no longer posed a threat and ran to Gray, falling at his side in a puddle of blood, noticing offhandedly that his pink hair was getting soaked with Gray's blood.

Long claw marks ran down the ice mage's face, blood slowly trickling out. Natsu choked back a cry of fury at the sight of his friend so terribly hurt. Yes they argued, but they were friends. And his eyes…

The creature had aimed to destroy him, make it impossible for Gray to fight back, and it had raked its claws down his face, through his eyes. Even if Gray survived this, and he would because there was no way Natsu was letting him die, he would never see again.

He cradled Gray's head gently in one hand, feeling the dampness at the back of his head where he had hit the tower wall. He raised a hand, a tiny flame dancing across his fingertips to cauterise the wounds and stop the bleeding. Tears leaked down his face, mingling with the blood of the creature that had hit him when it had been flailing about, as he moved to close the worst of the wounds on Gray's stomach.

Gray was so far gone that he didn't even flinch at the flames searing his sensitive flesh. Pinkish drops fell onto the ruin of his face, the mix of blood and tears dripping down his face. Natsu stared in shock as the edges of the ragged wounds contracted, pinkish flesh forming where there had once been gaping flesh and blood. The flames on his fingers dwindled out as he stared at Gray's reforming face.

Eyes clenched tightly shut, Gray moaned at the pain in his belly. Something wet hit his face, and he blinked his eyes open, squinting as Natsu's tear-stained face came into focus. "Why're you crying?" He slurred, voice raspy.

Natsu grinned, and though later he would deny it with every fibre of his being, wrapped his arms around his best friend, happier than he could possibly express that Gray was alright. He had no idea how it had happened, but in this case, he was glad for the unpredictable nature of magic.

Gray flinched at the pain in his stomach and shoulder, and didn't completely understand what had just happened, but he was alive, and for some reason that seemed an amazing thing. He wasn't going to question it anytime soon.

_To Be Continued_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: So, It's been ages since I've written anything for this, I didn't intend the original story to be continued, so I had to re-write it, at least in my mind. I'm so sorry it took so long, and hopefully you like where it ends up.<strong>


	2. Princess and the Pea

**Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, I would update more often. **

**Author's Note: I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to write this. I've just been writing pretty much anything other than this, because it wasn't really my idea, it was more SecretDime's, and so I stalled as soon as the moment was gone. Plus, I wanted to re-write the first chapter. If you haven't, go re-read the first chapter, because I have re-written it, and hopefully made it better.**

_**The Princess and the Pea**_

"What happened to you two?" Mirajane asked, as Natsu and Gray limped into the guild.

"It's a long story," Gray muttered, standing upright only because Natsu was holding him up. The wounds on his face had been healed somehow by the combination of Natsu's tears and the creature's blood, but the rest of his wounds had to be treated like any other.

"Someone needs to look at his wounds," Natsu said, handing Gray off to Mira, following them to the infirmary. She lay him down on the bed, removing the bandages covering the ice mage's shoulder and stomach. "What happened?" Mira asked.

Natsu recounted the events that had led to Gray's mauling.

"So, what happened when you went to talk to this Magn, the village leader?"

"He didn't really talk to him," Gray muttered as the healing magic flowed around him. "It was more like he threatened the village leader until he told us everything."

"Well, what did he say?"

Natsu frowned. "He said that a girl named Rapunzel used to live in that tower, and that she was in love with a prince from a nearby kingdom or something, and then they both disappeared. According to Magn, the witch that the princess lived with cursed the prince, and he became the monster that attacked us."

"This isn't the first case of a prince and princess gone missing," a gravelly voice called.

"Master! What do you mean this isn't the first case like this?" Gray asked, twisting to look at the small, powerful guild leader.

"There have been numerous cases of princes and princesses disappearing and monsters appearing all over the place. I need you two to investigate them as soon as Gray is well enough to go."

"Why does it have to be them, Master?" Mirajane asked.

"I would have to explain the situation to anyone else, and I believe Natsu and Gray's unique abilities will prove useful in this situation." He looked at the two boys staring at him with almost identical expressions. "Pack your things so that you're ready to leave as soon as Gray is well enough to go. This is the information about the next case I want you to investigate." He handed Natsu a flyer and stared at him for a moment. "Oh and Natsu, cut that stupid thing off." He pointed at the still bloodstained braid and left.

The dragon slayer looked down at Gray, at the swirls of magic that surrounded him, repairing the damage the creature had done. "I'll pack for both of us. Get him well fast," he muttered to Mirajane, already planning to cut the hair off as soon as he found something sharp enough. Gray couldn't punish him if it was on Makarov's orders.

Gray lingered behind Natsu, moving slowly, still sore despite the full healing he had received before they left. They had agreed to take it easy on the way to the castle Makarov had sent them to, and Gray was fairly sure that Natsu was still in some kind of shock, because of how easy it had been to make him agree to taking it slow. He had to admit that he didn't really miss the long pink braid. Natsu looked more like himself with his usual spiky hair.

"Wow," Natsu breathed, staring up at the building in front of them. "Big."

"Understatement of the century," Gray agreed. He knocked on the door, favouring his injured arm.

"Identify yourselves," a loud voice echoed.

"We're from Fairy Tail," Natsu called, "we're here about the missing prince."

"Show me your marks." The voice yelled. Natsu turned to the side, showing the red mark on his bicep, and Gray lifted his shirt, displaying the blue Fairy Tail mark on his chest, and the slight pinkish discoloration of freshly healed skin. The doors of the great manor house opened softly, revealing a dark entrance hall, empty of all people. Natsu strode in like he belonged there, Gray following behind at a more discrete pace.

"Where is everyone?" Natsu asked, looking around the hallway.

"I don't know, why are you asking me?"

"This way please," a small voice said. They looked up to see a small wisp of energy floating in front of them. It lead them down the hallway to a small receiving room, where an elegant older woman and a white-haired man sat waiting for them.

"Thank you for coming," the man said.

"Please, take a seat," the woman said, gesturing to the two seats in front of them. Natsu and Gray sat in the offered seats, both of them perching on the edges of the delicate chairs. "This is a very delicate situation," the woman began, "and we need to make sure that you're the right people for the job."

"We were sent personally by our Master, ma'am," Gray said, voice soothing. Being reassuring wasn't his best gig, but he was better at it than Natsu. "If you would just explain the details of what happened."

The couple shared a glance, seeming to agree to talk to them. "It is rather a long story," the man began, "but I shall tell you the short version. We have a son, who is about to reach marrying age, but we could not find a woman of suitable pedigree."

Gray could almost feel Natsu roll his eyes.

"We had worried that we would not find a suitable candidate," the woman took over, "and then a beautiful young woman appeared at the door, claiming to be a travelling princess who needed a place to stay the night. She seemed perfect, but we had to be certain, so we decided to test her. We placed a pea on the bedstead, and then piled it high with mattresses. If she had a good night's sleep, then it would be clear that she wasn't a real princess."

"So what happened after that?" Natsu asked, starting to get impatient.

"That morning, both our son and the princess disappeared. And a….creature has appeared."

"A creature?" Gray asked, a slight shiver running down his spine. After all, he hadn't done too well out of their run in with the last _creature_. "What kind of creature?"

"A strange one," the woman muttered. "It would be best if you observed the rest of the details yourself. The wisp will show you to the necessary locations," she gestured to the bright, floating creature.

Natsu and Gray got to their feet, and followed the creature out of the delicate room, back into the empty hallway. They exchanged a look, but stayed silent until the wisp paused in front of a doorway.

"This is it," the wisp whispered in its soft, musical voice. "This is the room that the princess stayed in. It is the masters' wish that you examine this room first."

"This is officially the weirdest place I've ever smelled," Natsu muttered. "Everything smells the same, even the people. They smell like mould."

"Let's just try and avoid this monster, I've had enough of those for the moment." He entered the room, and stared up at the mattresses piled up to almost the ceiling. "Go for your life," Gray said, stepping to one side.

Natsu leapt up, landing lightly on the top of the mattresses. "No wonder the princess couldn't sleep," Natsu called down from his perch atop the mattresses. "These are really uncomfortable. And I can sleep anywhere."

"Can you feel the pea?" Gray asked, curious for some reason.

"Which one? It feels like there are hundreds of peas under these mattresses." Natsu rolled around the beddings, wrinkling his nose.

"Find anything interesting?" Gray yelled up.

"It smells like mould here too. And something else," Natsu took a few deep breaths. "I don't know what it is, but I think I smelled it in the tower." He froze, head tilted.

Gray looked around the room, looking for anything that might provide an answer as to what was going on. There didn't seem to be anything in the room apart from the bed with its ridiculous number of mattresses.

"Gray…"

"What is it?" Gray froze, turning to face Natsu on his pedestal of mattresses. As soon as he stopped moving, he could feel the vibrations as something came towards the room they were examining.

Natsu clambered to the edge of the bed and stared down at the doorway as a pea green, misshapen figure shambled into the room. It was about the size of Elfman, with elongated limbs and ragged talons. It grinned, revealing pointed yellow teeth.

"This shouldn't be too hard," Natsu grinned. The creature looked up at him, and suddenly the mattresses all collapsed around him, sending him into the middle of them. They closed around him, and he found himself gasping for breath, unable to move at all.

Gray stared as the creature sent Natsu into the bed and ambled threateningly towards him. "Why the hell are they focusing on me?" Gray wondered aloud. It did seem like the last two monsters they had encountered had focused on him. He could see smoke beginning to wind out from the mattresses as Natsu tried to burn his way out. The question was would he get out in time?

The creature took a swing at Gray, and he leapt backwards. "Right." He had had enough of monsters trying to rip him open.

"Ice Make: Lance!" He yelled, knife-sharp blades of ice forming and flying into the green creature. It jerked with the force of the needle-like ice tearing into it, but kept moving forward regardless. "Ice Make: Saucer!"

The ice magic ripped into the creature, destroying it completely. Gray grinned happily, his pent-up aggression happily released.

The mattresses burned up suddenly, revealing a raging Natsu. "You're going down!" He yelled, leaping to the ground. He turned to attack the creature and froze. "You got it." He said, turning to face Gray.

"Yup," Gray said, smiling happily. The two of them stared at each other for the moment. "What the hell is going on?" They asked simultaneously.

**Author's Note: As soon as I had this finished, I posted it. Thus, there may be mistakes I haven't spotted. If you find them, please point them out to me. I know it has been a long time, but I hope you haven't forgotten me. **


End file.
